1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an unlocking jig for unlocking a plurality of flexing pieces from locking projections that prevent separation between a housing and a member mounted on the housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 6,250,962 and FIG. 10 herein disclose a waterproof connector. With reference to FIG. 10, the waterproof connector includes a female housing 1 with opposite front and rear ends, and receives female terminal fittings 2 that are mounted to ends of electric wires 3. A waterproof rubber seal 4 is mounted on the rear side of a female housing 1 for waterproofing the electric wires 3 and is held in place by a hold-down member 5 that is installed on the female housing 1. More particularly, locking projections 6a and 6b are formed on the side surfaces at the rear of the female housing 1 and flexing pieces 7a and 7b project from the hold-down member 5 at locations aligned with the locking projections 6a and 6b. The hold-down member 5 is pressed against the female housing 1 so that the flexing pieces 7a and 7b elastically deform and ride over the locking projections 6a and 6b. The flexing pieces 7a and 7b then return resiliently to lock the locking projections 6a and 6b. In this manner, the waterproof rubber seal 4 is sandwiched between the hold-down member 5 and the female housing 1.
The flexing pieces 7a and 7b must be unlocked from the locking projections 6a and 6b to remove the hold-down member 5 from the female housing 1. In the conventional method, a flat blade screwdriver is inserted between the side surface of the female housing 1 and the inner side of the flexing pieces 7a and 7b to unlock the flexing pieces 7a and 7b from the locking projections 6a and 6b. In this method, the flexing pieces 7a and 7b are unlocked one by one. However, one of the unlocked flexing pieces 7a or 7b may be locked again while the other flexing piece is being unlocked. Therefore the conventional method is inconvenient.
The invention has been made in view of the above-described problem. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an unlocking jig capable of unlocking a plurality of flexing pieces from locking projections easily and efficiently.